A spotlight flickered on, revealing a young human woman in the distance, kneeling on the ground, sobbing quietly. Long golden brown hair pooled around her, shining in the bright white light. Keshiema approached the human with steady, deliberate movements. The woman looked up at her with large, dark hazel eyes filled with sorrow.

  Another spotlight flickered on. Within the new light, an Ice-Daemon stared at her. She was much taller than the human and possessed sharp horns. Her long white hair framed baby blue eyes on a pale, stoic face.

  A third spotlight nearly blinded Keshiema. The woman within this light gave her pause. The long rainbow hair and color wheel eyes stole her attention at once, almost distracting her from the wind rose on the woman's forehead. Although she was the shortest of the three, her immense presence weighed down on Keshiema; a presence made even more terrifying by her vicious, sharp-toothed grin.

  Taking a step back, Keshiema looked the other two over once more. At a glance, the three looked so different. But as she stared, their similarities stood out. They all had the same build, albeit starkly different heights. Their eyes, though of different colors, were the same shape and held the same haunted stare. Her skin crawled when all three spoke. “You have a choice to make.”

  “I don't understand.” Her eyes watered. So many emotions threatened to escape her. Fear, sorrow, joy. All of these were versions of herself. They were her; Every one of them. But at the same time, none of them.

  The horns and blue eyes of the demon. The colorfulness of the Primordial. The frailness of the human. She could pick out her features in each of them, but none of them was truly herself. Not alone.

  “You have a choice to make!” they repeated in unison once more.

  “No," she shouted, "I can’t just erase pieces of myself! What's the point?” Keshiema wrapped her arms around herself as the three moved closer, surrounding her.

  “Get rid of the human!” the Primordial and demon spoke together. “Your weakest side! She offers nothing but mortality.”

  Keshiema shook her head, “She is kindness, humility, gratefulness for life!” The human smiled shyly at the defense.

  “Get rid of the demon!” The human and Primordial stared at the demon as they said it. “She is brash and impulsive! She'll get you killed!”

  “She keeps me confident and quick on my feet!” She refused again. The demon looked away, hiding her appreciation.

  “Get rid of the Primordial!” The demon and human both stood proud as they spoke. “She is bloodthirsty and reckless. She will drive you insane!”

  “She,” Keshiema faltered, trying to defend the side of herself she was most unfamiliar with.

  “Get rid of her! Get rid of her!” The demon and human chanted, growing progressively louder. “Get rid of her! Get rid of her!”

  “She drives me!” The two backed down. “She drives my will to fight and keeps me brave in the most hopeless situations.” The Primordial nodded, affirming Keshiema's words. “I won't deny any of you.”

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  “Choose!” the three spoke in unison once more.

  “No!” She practically roared, power filling her voice; they stumbled back. “I promised I wouldn’t lose myself! Like hell I’m going back on that now!” The spotlights shining on the three versions of herself faded in and out. “You are all a part of me. I could never erase any of you. Because denying any one of you is denying who I am.”

  The three beings took several steps back, examining her. The hunger in their eyes rattled her nerves. The human shook her head, taking a large step backward. The other two shoved her back further, lunging forward as they each summoned a sword.

  The Primordial reached her first, thrusting her sword towards Keshiema. Sidestepping at the last possible second, Keshiema almost ran into the demon's blade. Ducking to avoid that, she narrowly missed the Primordial’s second swing.

  Diving forward, Keshiema tackled the Primordial, stealing her sword. The demon swung furiously, keeping Keshiema on the defensive. “You. Have. To. Chose!” The demon spoke between strikes as her sword clashed against Keshiema's.

  Growling in frustration, the Primordial charged, claws readied as she moved behind Keshiema. Taking advantage of a brief opening between the swings of the demon's attack, Keshiema managed to knock her back. In a spinning crouch, Keshiema thrust her sword upward to block the Primordial's attack.

  The Primordial shrieked as her bare hand met the razor-sharp blade. The bloody gash healed rapidly. Fire engulfed the Primordial's clawed hands. Keshiema turned around, blocking another attack from the demon. Countering with a swing of her own, Keshiema knocked the demon away and sliced through her chest.

  Before she could turn around, a searing pain tore through Keshiema’s back as the Primordial struck her. Refusing to let the pain distract her, Keshiema responded by throwing every ounce of force she could muster into her sword as she spun around. The Primordial jumped back, but not soon enough. Keshiema struck flesh on her upward swing and brought the sword down mercilessly in a second strike as she turned back around.

  Silently crying, she knelt down to pick up the demon's sword. Wiping the blades on her pants to clean off the blood, she placed them in her empty scabbards. She mourned both the demon and the Primordial, lying lifeless at her feet. Knowing she had no choice but to kill them gave her little solace.

  A small hiccup reminded Keshiema the human still remained. Turned away from carnage, the human wept softly into her hands. Approaching the most fragile version of herself, Keshiema spoke softly, “It's alright.” She held her hand out to the woman, helping her to her feet. “Did you get hurt when they knocked you down?” Her own injuries screamed at her, but the flames had cauterized the wounds, keeping her from bleeding.

  “If you had just chosen, it wouldn’t have come to this.” The human gave her a dissatisfied glare.

  “I’m not so sure I believe that.” Keshiema turned away from the fallen warriors and away from the human's judging eyes. Realizing her mistake, she reached for her swords. Pain erupted in her side as she sliced the human's neck. Letting go of the dagger in Keshiema’s side, the human slumped to the floor in the careless nature only possessed by corpses.

  Gritting her teeth, Keshiema fought against the pain radiating from her wounds, barely finding the strength to pull the dagger from her side and place it in its sheath. She had missed her weapons. Without them, she was afraid, susceptible, weak. Finally having them back soothed her soul.

  The bodies surrounding her evaporated into colorful fog. The demon into an icy blue, the human a glimmering silver, and the Primordial a fiery red. The three puffs combined over her head into an iridescent purple. The shimmering lavender cloud swirled ominously overhead. A turbulent wind spun the concentrated essence into a funnel. The warm aura surrounded her, filling her broken body with a familiar power.

  Her broken bones and lacerated flesh healed rapidly as she absorbed the aura, and a lead weight lifted from her shoulders. A subtle warmth filled her heart, chasing away the bitter chill that always accompanied the absence of her mark.

  For the first time in her life, she felt whole, like a long-forgotten piece of herself had finally been restored. With a renewed determination, Keshiema straightened herself and called into the darkness. “I’m ready! Send me back!” A blinding light surrounded her as the ground evaporated.